Seoul stocks trim gains late Thursday morning due to profit-taking

SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shares trimmed some earlier gains late Thursday morning due to profit-taking.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.55 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,277.21 as of 11:20 a.m.

The index hit a yearly high, aided by a continued rise in top-cap Samsung Electronics, which delivered strong second-quarter earnings but shed part of the gains.

Large caps traded mixed.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.34 percent as its quarterly operating profit spiked 23.5 percent on-year in the April-June period.

Internet giant Naver stayed flat after reporting forecast-beating earnings for the second quarter.

The country's no. 2 chipmaker SK Hynix stayed flat, and Kakao, the operator of mobile messenger app Kakao Talk, edged up 0.15 percent.

Leading automaker Hyundai Motor jumped 2.4 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia Motors advancing 2.02 percent.

Among decliners, pharmaceutical heavyweight Samsung Biologics shed 0.81 percent, and Celltrion lost 0.66 percent.

The local currency was trading at 1,191.00 won against the U.S. dollar, up 2.1 won from the previous session's close.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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